The second edition of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters came to a close in dramatic fashion on Saturday, with more glowing endorsements from the players.
Last year in Riyadh and this time round in Jeddah, the stars of snooker have talked up how much they have enjoyed their visit to Saudi, with the champion doing so after lifting the trophy.
Neil Robertson edged Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 in a brilliant final at the Green Halls and was quick to praise the tournament in his winner’s speech.
‘I think I speak on behalf of all the players, this is probably the most enjoyable for all the players,’ said the Thunder from Down Under. ‘The hospitality that everyone puts on for all the players makes us feel really special, we don’t always get that despite the reputation of the game.’
Before we go any further, the players obviously like the huge amount of money on offer in Saudi Arabia. Not just the £500,000 that Robertson pocketed, but the career high prizes for Chris Wakelin in the semis (£100,000), Oliver Lines in the last 16 (£30,000) and Steven Hallworth in the last 32 (£20,000).
There is that, clearly, but what the players are seemingly desperate to mention is how they are looked after there, compared to other events.
Asked to elaborate on his feelings after the final, Robertson said: ‘It’s just the hospitality and everything. You come to the venue and, no joke, there’s probably about 100 staff all around the arena.
‘It’s all the courtesy cars, the food. They’re putting on food twice a day for all the players in the field. The players lounge is great, the practice facilities are great, the hotels are amazing.’
This might not sound like much really. In the worlds of football, F1, golf and other sports it is nothing to write home about, but the stars of snooker are not used to it on the tour which is still largely based in the UK.
‘Even in the UK Championship or the Masters, you get the buzz when you’re playing in the arena, but it doesn’t feel like you’re going to something special,’ Robertson explained. ‘Even in the World Championship.
‘I think they’ve really raised the bar in terms of how players are being treated and hopefully we see more of this at the major events.’
These are not views restricted to the champion. Speaking after the first edition of the event in Riyadh a year ago, Dave Gilbert made the same point and explained just how limited the facilities can be at other tournaments.
‘The hospitality was fantastic, it’s how every event should be, where they put on food for the players and good practice facilities,’ Gilbert told the Talking Snooker podcast last year.
‘The facilities should always be on point, we’re a professional sport. Sometimes, I don’t want to say anything too bad, but it is very poor. How Saudi is, for me, is how every event should be.
‘When you’re scratting about at 9.30am at Ponds Forge for a swig of water or a cup of tea, it’s a joke, to be honest with you.
‘You’re trying to ask the cleaning lady if she’s got a quid spare because you’ve got no change in your pocket. We’re not asking for much. It’s a joke.
‘Put on some bottles of water and a bit of snap. I’m not asking for the world, just the odd can of Red Bull! We get treated well in a few events, but there’s no excuse, for me, every event should be like that.’
Many other players have voiced the same opinion and that does seem to be what is really enthusing the cueists about the Saudi event. Yes, obviously the money is fantastic, but it appears to be the star treatment that adds the genuine enjoyment to the financial opportunity.
Of course, fans care about this a whole lot less than the players. In fact, they might not care about it at all.
Whether the stars of the baize have been served a delicious pre-match meal or not matters little to the television viewer who just wants to watch the snooker.
You could argue the pampering could help produce the best quality snooker, and there was a lot of great snooker last week including some of the best ever from the Rocket, but it’s hard to tell if that really correlates.
What clearly does bother the television viewer is the lack of crowd for much of the event before the final, something even the champion acknowledged.
‘The crowd today was absolutely awesome,’ Robertson said of the final. ‘The crowds need to improve, we all know that, but for the final that was amazing.’
The final was well attended, but almost every other game was not, many with literally no one watching.
The event features 144 players so it would be completely unrealistic to expect good crowds throughout, but often it looked and sounded ridiculous on TV. Even when the big names joined the action in the last 32, there would often be a lone person applauding or still complete silence after a moment of brilliance.
Riyadh Season-sponsored Ronnie O’Sullivan felt the crowds were actually quite good, saying: ‘In China it’s a different energy, in the UK it’s a completely different energy, if we were in America it would be a different energy. In Saudi Arabia and the Middle East it’s a different energy, it’s a very cosy atmosphere here.
‘The crowds have been good here. Very cosy and very chilled. I prefer playing in this atmosphere to the rowdy thing. It’s like playing in your front room, a nice cosy atmosphere.’
The Rocket, as ever, draws the best crowds of any player and the best way he could sell it was ‘chilled’ and ‘cosy’ which illustrates the kind of numbers we are dealing with.
Ultimately, though, it seems the players don’t mind and are happy being treated very well and competing for big money in front of very few people. And fair enough. It’s understandable. Ignoring the sports washing debate which no players or powers that be seem to care about, then it makes sense.
Unless things change, though, there will remain a gulf between how the players and the organisers see this event and how the fans do.
Dubbed ‘the fourth major’ thanks to its mammoth prize fund, the television audience will continue to struggle to buy into that as long as matches are played in sepulchral silence to empty seats.
Certainly any Barry Hearn-led talk of the World Championship moving to Saudi Arabia would be even more difficult to swallow having seen the crowds the country can produce. The players would get even more money and still better snacks at a Saudi World Championship, but fan satisfaction would be through the floor.
A top snooker name who seemed to bridge the gap between fans and players during the action in Jeddah was Shaun Murphy, who was clear on where he sees the event in the pecking order.
‘I still think the history and the legacy of the existing three majors, the Triple Crown events, I think they’re stand alone events,’ he told Metro.
‘This event obviously rivals the World Championship in terms of prize money and it’s a 10-year deal, so it’s got the potential to become in great standing, but at the moment, for me, the other three would still be ahead of this one, despite the prize money.’
He added: ‘You can’t buy legacy. The prize money here is massive and we’re all enjoying competing and somebody is going to walk away with £500,000 this week, it’s an amazing opportunity and we’re all very grateful for it.
‘But the legacy and how special the Triple Crown events are, you can’t buy that. For me, those events are head and shoulders above everything else.’
Whether the crowds ever do improve at this event is yet to be seen, but ultimately it is irrelevant in one way as these are not your average promoters we are dealing with. They do not need to sell tickets to dish out the dosh.
So as long as they are stumping up the prize fund and putting on a nice spread, the players will have a lovely old time.
The television audience will see some great action from some well-fed talent, but will they ever really feel they are watching a tournament – a whole tournament, not just the final – comparable to the biggest and best in the sport? Maybe not.